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Rhône-Alpes
Broken marrons glacés, sugar, vanilla: in Ardèche, crème de marrons was born from what the workshop broke while making its marrons glacés.
Jam or preserved fruit from Rhône-Alpes.
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At the end of the 19th century, Ardèche invented what the chestnut could become beyond the peasant table. The product specification for Châtaigne d'Ardèche links this movement to the silk crisis, which left the department with a workforce trained in delicate tasks, and to the abundance of raw material; it cites several houses that, from the 19th century onwards, made chestnuts the main ingredient of renowned products, including marrons glacés and crème de marrons.
It is in Privas, at Clément Faugier, that tradition places the birth of the cream: in 1885, the master confectioner is said to have had the idea of salvaging the chestnuts broken during the making of marrons glacés, crushing them, and mixing them with chestnut pulp, syrup, and vanilla. The official promotional website for French produce gives the same origin without naming the house: a cream invented in Ardèche in 1885 by a manufacturer seeking to use the pieces of chestnut broken during the production of marrons glacés.
The dates do not quite tally. Maison Faugier states that it has been established in Privas since 1882. The product specification for Châtaigne d'Ardèche, which does not date the birth of the cream, dates the marrons glacés company of the Privas pastry chef and confectioner Sérardy to 1882, and places Clément Faugier's arrival in this venture in 1887, to make marrons glacés on a larger scale.
Ardèche crème de marrons used broken pieces of marrons glacés, and it quickly overtook the marron glacé itself in volume: it can be eaten all year round, most often like a jam.
It is not the affair of a single house. A 1900 catalogue, preserved in the departmental archives, attests to crème de marrons among the products made by the Société des marrons glacés d'Aubenas, Contassot & Cie, alongside marrons glacés, candied chestnuts, and chestnuts in syrup; the firm Sabaton, founded in Aubenas in 1907, had it in its range as early as 1910. From the Contassot company, associated with Gustave Imbert, descends the house of Marrons Imbert, officially founded in Aubenas in 1920, which still produces crème de marrons, marrons glacés, chestnut purée, and chestnut paste today, selling them directly. Sabaton offers its own in 250 g, 500 g, or 1 kg tins and in tubes.
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Clément Faugier's cream was initially packaged in a metal tin described as almost indestructible, which facilitated shipping far and wide; this format remains the brand's best-seller, and the decoration on the original tin, designed by Clément Faugier, has not aged.
In 1958, the house launched a 78 g tube, intended especially for athletes and holidaymakers, followed later by a 220 g tube. The 78 g aluminium tube is still in the firm's catalogue.
The word 'Ardèche' on a jar is no small matter. According to an article from May 2025, the fraud prevention services ruled that the name 'crème de marrons de l'Ardèche' implies the use of fruit from the Châtaigne d'Ardèche PDO. Yet Maison Clément Faugier, in Privas, sometimes uses chestnuts from Italy, Spain, or Portugal when local production is not sufficient: it had to remove the mention of 'Ardèche' from its tins.
Appearance
A light brown paste.
Taste
Aromas of sweet potato, brioche, and honey; the cream is very sweet.
Texture
Creamy; some versions contain pieces of marron glacé.
the chestnuts are peeled and cooked (steamed at Faugier), then puréed.
the pieces of marrons glacés broken during production are crushed.
broken pieces, pulp, sugar, candying syrup, and vanilla are blended into a creamy paste.
the cream is put into metal tins or tubes.
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Crème de marrons is most often eaten like a jam, but above all it is the ingredient in the Mont-Blanc, that cake of crème Chantilly and meringue. It is spread on crêpes or waffles, served with ice cream, crème Chantilly, yoghurt, or fromage frais.
Very sweet, it should not be eaten too often, notes the official promotional website for French produce, which nevertheless suggests it before exertion for the energy it releases gradually. It pairs it with crème Chantilly, meringue, chocolate, vanilla ice cream, and rum, and, for wines, with PDO rivesaltes, maury, and banyuls.
Crème de marrons bears no official quality mark: neither PDO (AOP), PGI (IGP), nor Label Rouge. Only its fruit is protected: Châtaigne d'Ardèche is a PDO registered in 2014.
Historic house / Artisan confectionery
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Maison Sabaton presents itself as an Ardèche confectioner since 1907, driven by a family history steeped in tradition. Based in Aubenas, in Ardèche, it transforms Châtaigne d'Ardèche PDO (AOP) into marrons glacés, crème de marrons and candied citrus peel, and positions itself as a champion of the Châtaigne d'Ardèche PDO. Its products are available from its online shop and can be collected from the Aubenas shop.
| Address | Za La Plaine, 42 rue Paul Sabaton, 07200 Aubenas, France |
| 04 75 87 83 87 | |
| vpc@sabaton.fr | |
| sabaton.fr | |
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Part of the production is certified organic, since 2006. |